SB Nation’s Ryan Nanni achieves his dreams, becomes Bloomin' Onion mascot thanks to 10,000 retweets
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ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
SB Nation’s Ryan Nanni served as the Bloomin’ Onion Man mascot in the second half of the 2018 Outback Bowl between Michigan and South Carolina. ESPN’s feature from the game broadcast, narrated by play-by-play man Adam Amin, is here:
The onion’s job is to cheer on the game’s official Bloomin’ Onion team. In this case, it’s South Carolina. Therefore:
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Here’s the story:
Nanni had one wish this year: to be the Bloomin’ Onion at this year’s Outback Bowl. This wasn’t some idea he wanted to just because the game is just around the corner. No, Ryan was talking about this as early as January.
Hi @Outback - do you have a list of the duties required of the Bloomin’ Onion mascot? I want to make sure I get any necessary training.
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) January 6, 2017
Hi @Outback - do you have a list of the duties required of the Bloomin’ Onion mascot? I want to make sure I get any necessary training.
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) January 6, 2017
But December hit and there was no promise from Outback that this would happen. With the Outback Bowl less than a month away, Ryan reached out to everyone on Twitter, but first he’d have to make a deal with Outback.
Ok, @Outback. How many retweets is it going to take for you to let me fulfill my destiny and become Bloomin Onion Man?
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) December 5, 2017
It didn’t take long for Outback to respond and they have him a goal: get 10,000 retweets and you get the job.
Those are Bloomin' big shoes to fill. 10,000 retweets! #FryinNanni
— Outback Steakhouse (@Outback) December 5, 2017
And with that, Twitter assembled. Let’s pile up those retweets!
I've literally Never Tweeted, but after 6 years I've found a truly worthwhile reason to do so. #FryinNanni https://t.co/J3e5QojsI1
— MPolo247 (@MPolo247) December 5, 2017
I’m all in on the onion pic.twitter.com/d7dLioJ6cy
— Evan Whitten (@EvanWhitten10) December 5, 2017
Some people made some bold promises if Ryan got 10,000 retweets. We’re not going to hold them to this, although the thought of a cold one would pair well with a Bloomin’ Onion.
Hello twitter friends, one of the funniest and most entertaining person I know on Twitter needs your help to be the blooming onion for the Outback bowl. Please help @celebrityhottub be the onion. I'll owe you a cold one!! pic.twitter.com/Lpz0X8F3w3
— Boo!! hicks (@bohicks) December 5, 2017
If @celebrityhottub gets to be the bloomin onion at the @outbackbowl I hereby pledge to eat at least 1 meal at an @Outback in the next 3 months. Do the right thing @Outback https://t.co/uFjmMhxfXh
— Peter Bernstein (@plbernstein92) December 5, 2017
We are so close to #FryinNanni and if you don't retweet this to make it happen the Ghost of Outback Bowls past will haunt you forever https://t.co/9JBT4URnTh
— Whitney McIntosh (@WhitneyM02) December 5, 2017
RYAN GOT THE RETWEETS! HE’S GOING TO BE THE DANG BLOOMIN’ ONION! And he did it in a little less than five hours too.
MISSION BLOOMCOMPLISHED pic.twitter.com/ksoZLMHvUU
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) December 5, 2017
Congratulations Ryan. You see, dreams do come true. You just need a vision and a few thousand retweets. The only way this can get any better is if we get Ryan to hug Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh or South Carolina’s Will Muschamp in the middle of the game.